Nurarihyon/Anime and Movies
Anime 1st series In the first series, Nurarihyon only appears as a guest character in Ep. 12 Yōkai Nurarihyon. He did not appear in the 2nd anime, but Shinigami's role of frequently conspiring with other yōkai to oppose Kitarō is similar to Nurarihyon's future role in the franchise. 3rd series Starting with this series, Nurarihyon begins appearing regularly as Kitarō's arch enemy and becomes known as the "Japanese Yōkai Supreme Commander". However, even though he calls himself the Supreme Commander, he is not necessarily at the top of the yōkai world, as his only regular subordinate is Shu-no-Bon. In most episodes he has tricked another yōkai into working with him to eliminate Kitarō, and said yōkai usually refer to him as "sensei". He is also not portrayed entirely seriously and has many comical scenes, particularly his scenes with Shu-no-Bon and some of his defeats. In Ep. 4, like in the manga, he is sent to prehistoric times, and as a result he has lived several million years and now swears vengeance on Kitarō. In the fourth movie, he dubs himself the "Yōkai Emperor" and forms a large yōkai army to take over Tokyo. He kills guest character Caroline and her father Guwagoze and has a climactic battle with Kitarō. Compared to other adaptations, Nurarihyon works with humans far more often in his schemes, such as bombing buildings to give his construction company work (Ep. 4), providing services for fugitives (Ep. 16), taking over a hotel (Ep. 45), tricking enviromentalists into releasing Daidarabotchi (Ep. 60) and sending the yakuza to cause trouble at an inn Kitarō is working at (Ep. 104). In Ep. 51, he holds the World Yōkai Rally, where the winner gains control over the other competitors' home countries. His intention was to invite only weaker yōkai so that Shu-no-Bon could win, but first champion Backbeard enters along with others like him. In the end, Kitarō wins and Nurarihyon makes his escape. Although Kitarō wins representing Japan, he opts not rule the other countries. In Ep. 91, he offers to work with the Hi Clan to take down their mutual enemy Kitarō, but the Hi turn him down and transform him into a doll. His subordinates form a temporary truce with the Kitarō Family in order to team up and defeat the Hi Clan and their ally Nyō-Yasha. Afterwards, Kitarō offers to become allies with Nurarihyon, but Nurarihyon refuses and their hostile relationship resumes. In Jigoku Hen, He steals the legendary sword Kusanagi from Jigoku in order to fight Kitarō. In the end, however, Kitarō manages to break the sword and Nurarihyon is defeat when Shu-no-Bon betrays him and tackles him into the Blood Pond. 4th series Nurarihyon first appears in Ep. 45 as Kitarō's lawyer during The Great Yōkai Trial. He initially acts as though he genuinely cares to clear Kitarō's name, but it is eventually revealed that he was behind the frame job the whole time. He tries to escape the Tengu Police but is caught and sentenced to be sent to prehistoric times by way of the Ancient Millstone (as in his first manga appearance). He returns in Ep. 54 and is from then on pretty similar to his character in the 3rd anime. In addition to the usual plots against Kitarō, he is also skilled at iai (the art of drawing your sword and cutting in one move) and has many direct showdowns with Kitarō. He is more comical than in most adaptations. He always loses and often suffers payback from yōkai he worked with but betrayed or abandoned in battle. Unlike other adaptations, he does not appear to have significant power on his own. In Ep. 64 he holds the Yōkai Rally, with the wish granting Yōkai Stone as the prize. He sent out special invitations to the racers and special TV to all yōkai who wished to watch. However, the invitations were covered in a special hallucinogenic powder in order to throw off the racers, while the TV emitted a radio wave that put the viewers under his control. However, because Nezumi-Otoko stole Kitarō's invitation before it could effect him, he was able to keep his senses and win the race and destroy TV wave transmitter, forcing Nurarihyon and Shu-no-Bon to make their escape. Kitarō used the Yōkai Stone to wish all the injured racers back to normal. Eps. 96 to 99 sees Nurarihyon obtain great power and conquer Japan as the "Yōkai King", but he is eventually defeated as normal and loses all respect from the Japanese yōkai. His final appearance is in Ep. 113, where Nezumi-Otoko tricks him into hiring weak assassins to take out Kitarō. According to Ikkokudō, Nurarihyon was once an octopus but changed over the years (Ep. 101). 5th series For the first time, Nurarihyon is portrayed as sinister and powerful enough to truly fit the titles of "Japanese Yōkai Supreme Commander" and "Kitarō's Arch Nemesis". Although he is portrayed as a legitimate threat and thoroughly evil, he still has the occasional comical moment and some of his subordinates have at least some humanity in them. Before his first appearance in the series, he is shown in the opening animation with Shu-no-Bon and Jakotsu-Babaa. He first appears in shadows in Ep. 4, though his full appearance is first shown in Ep. 8, and from the get go it is implied he is behind some sort of sinister plot. He believes humans are too arrogant, and he commits random acts of terrorism against them, much like in the 3rd anime. In his first confrontation with Kitarō he receives a wound on his forehead from Kitarō's Hair Sword, so he vows to never heal the wound until he defeats him. His first hideout was a luxurious looking room in an building of some kind, but by the time he reappears in Ep. 17 he has traded down to a warehouse at a harbor. In Ep. 30, after another failed attempt at destroying Kitarō, he is arrested by the Tengu Police along with Shu-no-Bon and Jakotsu-Babaa. Later, in Ep. 39, just before their 5,000 year sentence is about to begin, Kyūso and Kamaitachi break them out. While in prison, Nurarihyon had somehow obtained Iron Claws. In Ep. 47, Nurarihyon appears during the the Great Yōkai Trial to attack Momon-Jii and save Kitarō. His reason for helping his nemesis was that he would not let anyone rob him of the opportunity to crush Kitarō. In Ep. 61, he deceives Tantanbō in order to steal the control device of Yōkai Castle, leaving Tantanbō behind after his defeat at the hands of Kitarō. His hatred of Kitarō is deep, and he tells his minions that he will not be satisfied until he has killed Kitarō and all of his friends. In Ep. 72, he finally awakens the spirit of Yōkai Castle, but it sinks to the bottom of the ocean during battle with Kitarō in Ep. 85. Neither he or his minions made another appearance before the series' cancellation. In GeGeGe no Kitarō: Nippon Bakuretsu!! he appears at the Evil Yōkai Summit with Shu-no-Bon and Jakotsu-Babaa. While Backbeard and the others are unconcerned with whether or not Japan is destroyed by Yato-no-Kami, Nurairhyon cheers support for Kitarō. 6th series Nurarihyon is set to be the central antagonist of the anime's final arc. He makes his debut in episode 76, where it is revealed that Nurarihyon was the one behind the release of the Four Treasonous Generals through his servant Shu-no-Bon. Nurarihyon has a yōkai supremacist agenda centered on "restoring the glory of yōkai" and begins carrying out his plans to gather allies for his cause. He has successfully mingled in human-society posing as a millionaire businessman with deep economic and political connections, using them as an asset to carry out his goals. He secretly takes advantage of the post economic bubble times to start a project of a golf course. The project is initially rejected by a politician who refuses to accept his bribes. Nurarihyon has his car secretly rigged with bombs and injures him, allowing another politician to accept the bribe. The golf course is set on Tsuchi-Korobi's forest, who in turn enraged at the destruction of its turf rampages against the humans. The construction workers fearing for their economic stability plead help with Kitaro to solve the problem. Tsuchi-Korobi refuses to back down from his rampage and he and Kitaro fight each other to an stalemate and Kitaro swears to talk with the humans to have them retire. The humans refuse to do so until they get a call that the project has been cancelled but will get their payment. Tsuchi-Korobi decides to join Nurarihyon's cause due to his help and Kitaro learns of the party behind the Four General's release. Live action Monday Dramaland Demon Flute Thousand Year Cursed Song Other media The Great Yōkai War Category:Character Subpage